TEFL Oak Springs Arizona

esl teachers, especially those who are certified in tefl rather than tesol course, work with students who come from and are based in places with cultural contexts that can differ extremely from a cultural context derived from an english-speaking national background. The employment of cultural sensitivity is paramount to establishing an effective and respectful rapport with your students, and in turn engaging the interests of your students. The experience I gained when I spent the last three years of high school at an American school in the Middle East after growing up in canada and the united states, taught me invaluable lessons about cultural shock, how to relate to people as a result of such gaps, and the outcomes that result from the choices you make as an instructor and as a person. I experienced a major culture shock when I moved to Kuwait, even though I was familiar with the basics of the culture through my mother who spoke the Kuwaiti dialect at home. I only began to settle in after about three to six months. In the beginning I was overcome with disgust, fascination, and annoyance – I couldn't believe the things I was seeing and constantly labeled their ways of doing things (like driving) as backwards or incompetent. It was a pattern that later on I would recognize in other newcomers to our school – both teachers and students. I often sided with the teachers in my classrooms in the beginning who were frustrated with the behavior of the local students. Everyone was awkward in the beginning, but certain choices on the parts of the individuals who arrived made a huge difference in how their stay ended up. The American School of Kuwait is a bit different from other international schools in the Middle East and around the world because there are a lot of “locals” in the school. This observation was often made by ex-patriot students, teachers, and other visitors, and carried a negative connotation. teachers who complained about the backwardness of the culture received little in return. Local students gave up easily in those classes and were incredibly disruptive. I was in an awkward but very informative position for observations – I understood the cultures of both the West and East, and could observe frustrations on both sides. I often observed the interactions and many altercations that occurred between students and teachers of different backgrounds, and always noticed that the teachers who had a good rapport with local students were often the most admired in the entire school and were very good educators. If you listened to the locals like my history teacher had done, you heard informative questions like “Why can't I learn about the history of my own country?” These were the teachers who listened to the students, who were not afraid to ask questions or make silly mistakes, and because they were the ones who were ready to ask or find out what was appropriate and what was not, they also could debate culturally sensitive topics with the students. It was simple as that – ask, and students will be willing to tell you so many things about the culture you are working with. My chemistry teacher for example, tried to personalize a worksheet by naming the character in a word problem, “Mr. Al Haram.” The class laughed and told him that the name translated to “Mr. Sinner,” but appreciated the effort. This is what we do as esl teachers as well – we want to see above all else, an effort on the part of the student to engage with the language first, corrections can come later. If you give the students the opportunity to see that you are willing to engage with their background, then they are willing to do the same with you. esl teachers have it lucky in comparison to the other teachers abroad. The students can tell you about their background in english while fulfilling their learning goals. I think it is important to challenge students to explain things about their background in english because this is an exercise that they will have to perform abroad in the majority of their conversations as a foreigner.